I am undone.

I have wept. I have watched in awe as someone’s world crumbles, literally, around them. Yesterday I held my daughter and prayed for the babies who lost their Mamas, for the Mamas who lost their babies, the siblings who had to witness the death of their family.

I’m having a hard time fathoming this reality. As I sit in my warm(ish) home in Michigan, my daughter asleep, my heart feels torn to pieces that there are little ones out there with no Mom or Dad to bundle them up and protect them. Teenagers forced too soon to grow up out of survival; to fend for and provide for their now orphaned siblings.

I can not write anything else without first acknowledging the darkness.

We are called to be the hands and feet of the church. We don’t look away from darkness, we RUN TOWARDS IT and shine our light; scattering whatever darkness tried to settle in.

While I can’t be there in person, I can support those who are. Preemptive Love Coalition is helping thousands of families stay warm and fed. They are on the ground floor, face to face, with the people you and I can only read about.

Every day is a chance to GO BE THE CHURCH. Sometimes it looks like showing up physically, with our time and our person. And sometimes it looks like showing up with our resources.

Consider doing something about it. If not through Preemptive Love, then find something. The Compassion Collective (created out of “Together Rising” which is ran by Glennon Doyle Melton. Theology aside, she’s showing up to battle here) uses 100% of donations towards the Syrian refugee crisis. If you want more, Here’s a list of other ideas.

Don’t let your light sit inside the walls of your home. Take it out, let others see it, and scatter the darkness.